The Price of Redemption
by Pondering Fool
Summary: Jaune's actions changed him, but not in the way he thought. His words left no mere mark, but an internal scar that would stay with him forever. That fateful day changed him, but in ways nobody could've predicted. Everything has a price and Cardin is about to learn just how much redemption will cost him. Rated T for dark themes. RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth/Monty Oum.
1. Reformed

**I'm not going to lie; I have **_**really **_**high hopes for Cardin as a character. There's a possible redemption arc, a valid and presumably tragic reason for hating Faunus, his relationship with the other students it's all just…filled to the brim with potential! So…here's my take on what happens after the Forever Fall, enjoy!**

* * *

"_Don't _ever _mess with my team- my _friends _ever again."_

The words hung in the air like a thick fog on a winter's morning; cold, relentless and oppressive. Cardin wanted to say something, _anything _that would set the record straight. Something that would make the horrible feelings swirling around in his mind go away. But nothing would come to mind.

He could only watch wordlessly as Jaune, the man he ridiculed and harassed, the man who had _saved his life_ walk away. Of all the feelings that ran through his mind, it was shame that came to the front. He had thrashed Jaune effortlessly in every dual, he had been accepted into Beacon; one of the finest combat schools in the world and had been not only defeated by _one _Ursa, not only saved by the man he bullied, but he had been left for dead by his teammates and 'supposed' friends.

"_**Where did everything go so wrong?"**_

With nothing left to do, he re-joined the rest of the group. His teammates could barely look at him and when they did, they did so in short and ashamed glances. Teams RWBY and JNPR glared at him with enough poison to down a Nevermore and even Glynda looked at him with disapproval, like a mother scolding an unruly child.

Normally, Cardin would've lashed out at them. Asked them how they could dare look at him like that and put them in their 'rightful' place. But he couldn't muster the indignation or the energy. He just hung at the back of the group and accepted their malice, continuing to wonder how everything had gone so badly in such a short amount of time.

* * *

The ride back to Beacon was morose and sullen. He refused to sit with his teammates and knew that sitting near either of the other teams would see him humiliated and beaten. With no other option, he sat as far away from the others as he could and stared out the window, watching as the scenery flew by.

"_**How could this have happened? How did I screw things up so badly?"**_

His grandmother of all people came to mind as he dwelled on his failure; she was a wise, kindly old woman who never ran short of advice. He remembered the first time she caught him harassing Faunas, how she dragged him back to her house by his ear and scolded him with such ferocity that a Deathstalker would've been cowed by her words.

"_Before you bully someone, imagine how you'll be making them feel!" _he remembered her saying. It seemed like such a silly piece of advice back then. How could he imagine himself as someone else, let alone one of those 'Beastkin' animals.

_"But there animals grandma, they don't have feelings." _Was his response. Cardin cringed at the thought of those words. They were cold and merciless, even by his standards.

"_**How I'll make them feel… hmm."**_

A silly piece of advice was all it was. But for once, Cardin tried to picture himself as his victims. And what he saw horrified him. He saw Velvet alone and crying in her room, nursing her bruised and swollen ears. He felt the pain Jaune had felt as he was torn away from his friends over the countless spiteful things he'd been forced to do. He shared in the experiences of countless victims and found himself hateful and disgusted.

"_**Oh…Oh God, is this what I've been doing to people? Oh God…what have I done?!"**_

"_Passengers, we have now reached our destination. You may disembark."_

Cardin didn't wait for Glynda to dismiss them. He just ran. He ran and ran and ran until he eventually arrived at the showers. Discarding his Armour and throwing his clothes off without any concern for where they landed, he turned the shower on as cold as possible and stood there, trying to combat the waves of nausea that washed over him.

"_**Why? Why would I do those things?"**_

Feeling slightly refreshed but unable to shake the feeling of disgust, he reluctantly stepped out of the shower and put his clothes back on. Feeling emotionally dead on the inside and unable to think, he went for a walk around the school.

* * *

The bully eventually found himself in the library, which, due to the hour, was thankfully empty of all but the most hard-core bibliophiles. Some of his most recent victims hid behind their books, some people moved into a different part of the library; most just cut their eyes at him.

"_**How did I let things get this fa-"**_

He was interrupted from his thoughts by being knocked onto the ground, having been standing to close to the door. Whoever it was took one look, realised that it was the short-tempered and universally reviled Cardin and tried to run.

Unfortunately for him, Cardin was too fast and caught him before he could make it into the maze of bookshelves, Cardin took realised it was Fenestra, a bookish, computer-loving snake-faunus and one of his more frequent victims.

"_**Urgh, disgusting." **_Was all Cardin could think as he looked at his scaly skin and slitted eyes.

"_What do you think you're doing freak? Are you trying to kill me?"_

"_What?! No, I-I-I wa-"_

"_That's what I thought. But still, animals like you need discipline." _The taller boy said while drawing his fist back.

"_No! Please!"_

Fenestra's words cut through Cardin's anger and indignation. Taking one look at the pleading Faunus and his fist, he recoiled in horror, nearly falling tripping over himself in his efforts to get away from the Faunus.

"_Go."_

"_What?"_

"_Go. Just…go."_

Unable to believe his luck, the Cold-Blooded Faunus scampered away as fast as he could. Leaving Cardin behind to stew in fresh waves of nausea and self-loathing.

"_**Why did I do that? I didn't even **_**think! **_**It just happened."**_

Utterly defeated and devoid of hope, Cardin sat at the nearest table and wallowed in self-pity.

"_**It was just instinct! How can I get over something that I do without even thinking?"**_

With nothing left to do, he dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his most beloved keepsake, the pocket edition of "Inspirational Quotes" and began to read. But his heart wasn't in it; he just kept flicking through the pages mindlessly, looking for something that would make him feel better. And he found it; his favorite quote in the entire book.

"_**The first step is always the hardest, but it's the only way to reach the second step."**_

All his life, Cardin had been able to relate to this quote the most. When he started combat school and fell behind the rest of the students, this quote inspired him to pick himself up; he started training outside of school and showed more dedication to the theory work. He couldn't maintain the attitude forever, but it at least took him from the worst in his class to above average.

On the playground, when Faunus would taunt him about being unable to do all the incredible things they could do with their superior senses and additional appendages, this quote inspired him to stand up for himself, even if he'd taken it to still made them shut up about his supposed 'inferiority'. Everything in his life could be related back to this one quote.

"_**The first step…"**_

It would be easy to just slip back into his bullying habits and ignore the guilt he felt, but would that _really _be a good thing in the long run? Would in not be better to try to fix himself and fail rather than not try at all?

"_**Is always the hardest…"**_

So _what _if they rejected him? So _what _if he'd been a jerk in his past? Was the damage _really _beyond repair?

"_**But it's the only way to reach the second step."**_

"_If that's the case, then I, Cardin Winchester, Will-_

"_Shh!_

The cranky old librarians shushing brought him back to reality. Cardin, now painfully aware that he was standing on the table, sat back down on his chair and tried to cover the luminescent blush spreading across his face.

_I, Cardin Winchester, vow to defeat my habits and be kinder to those around me!" _the thoroughly embarrassed boy whispered to himself. With newfound purpose, he marched over to the entrance and saw someone carrying a great many textbooks struggling to open the door.

"_**Perfect."**_

Cardin walked over, opened the door and gestured for the young girl to walk through.

"_Be my guest." _He said, trying to suppress the urge to do something cruel and vindictive.

The girl looked confused, as if suspecting a trap but nodded her thanks and walked through.

"_**Wow…that felt…good."**_

With a spring in his step and a warm feeling in his chest, Cardin walked back to his dorm and eased the door open, knowing that his teammates would be fast asleep. To lazy to change into his pajamas, he merely slid into his bed and went to sleep happy and filled with hopeful thoughts.

Sadly though, Cardin was blissfully unaware that people tend to hold grudges against those who have wronged him.

After all, everything has a price and redemption doesn't come cheap.

* * *

**So…how was it? Leave a review, let men know what you think and stay classy folks!"**


	2. Rejected

**Wow. The reception for this story has just been…amazing! I didn't think Cardin as a protagonist would garner much attention but you guys have been great about this. Thank you, I hope I don't let you down. By the way, this chapter is gonna be setting the mood of the story and showing how the basic plot will progress. Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

* * *

Cardin awoke the next morning feeling sluggish and emotionally drained from what he went through yesterday. He briefly considered paying some random schmuck a visit and taking it out on them, but was remembered last night's change of heart at the last moment.

"_**Right, gotta be nicer to other people. This is gonna suck…"**_

With a loud groan, Cardin dragged him self out of bed and looked out the window. He'd hoped that it would be sunny, but the clouds outside formed an overcast and heavy rain slammed against his window. The sight was strangely soothing, but didn't make him feel any better about what was too come.

"_**Today is…Saturday, right? Or is it Friday?"**_

The bones in Cardin's arm crackled as he reached to grab his Scroll.

**"Ok…yeah, it's Saturday. Whelp, no time like the present."**

Cardin had a quick shower, threw on a white t-shirt and some jeans and was out the door, looking for a scenario in which to play the Good Samaritan. He didn't need to wait long, as he saw someone struggling to carry some books.

"_**How convenient."**_

The student in question looked up and saw Cardin approaching with a friendly look on his face and a smile that looked a little too forced and felt immediately suspicious.

"_What do you want?"_

The former-bully looked a little aback by the hostility of his tone, but forced down his indignation and forced another smile.

"_Well, you look like your having a bit of trouble so I want to help. Is…that cool with you?"_

"_What, so you can knock them out of my hands and have a little laugh? Yea-no, I'll be fine."_

"_But I'm trying to help!"_

"_No thanks asshole, I've got it."_

And with those words, the student walked off, leaving behind a bewildered and insulted Cardin.

"_**What is wrong with that guy?! I was only trying to help!"**_

* * *

Cardin wandered the halls of Beacon, believing that the reaction he got from the last guy was just a one-off thing.

"_**The next one will be better…"**_

He heard the sounds of frustrated grunting coming from the gym. On the off chance that someone needed help and wasn't just working out, Cardin opened the door and had to suppress a giggle.

A Bat Faunus had trapped herself under the weights while bench pressing. She'd clearly tried to lift more than she could.

"_**Bench pressing without a watcher? Heh, amateur…"**_

Cardin turned to leave, but stopped just shy of the door handle. The girls grunts were becoming more frustrated and desperate with each passing second. Despite his resolution, it still seemed he didn't feel like helping Faunus.

"_**Will I ever get rid of this habit?"**_

He turned and looked at the girl again, she was clearly stuck and on the verge of tears.

"_**Well, I've gotta start somewhere."**_

With heavy reluctance, Cardin walked over to the trapped girl, noticing that she'd put an almost ridiculous amount of weights on the bar. It probably weighted at least a tonne.

"_**This is gonna suck…"**_

The Bat Faunus looked up, saw the face of the 'infamous' Cardin Winchester and felt the blood drain from her face. What did he want from her? Was he going to mock her? Let the whole school know about this incident?

"_Well, let's see if we can't get you out of here."_

Cardin rubbed his hands together, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead.

"_Ok, I'll lift and you try to wriggle your way out once it's high enough."_

With those words, Cardin heaved upwards, the bar bending heavily with the weight. He barely managed to lift it half way up, but it was enough for the Faunus to ease her way out from underneath the near crushing weight.

Cardin laid the weights down on the ground and turned around to see the girl running away from him as fast as she could.

"_You're welcome!"_

She didn't answer; she just kept running out the door and into the hallways. Cardin removed some of the weights from the bar and placed it back onto its holder.

"_**Why that ungrateful little..."**_

* * *

Cardin walked down the hall with a sinking feeling in his chest. He'd thought that changing would help make amends for what he'd done, but nobody trusted him.

"_**Have I really let things get so bad that people would rather fail than accept my help?"**_

Cardin watched the reactions of the other students that he walked past. Some of them looked fearful and others looked at him with as if he was a convicted murderer, all of them gave him a wide berth.

"_**Bastards…"**_

He wanted to lash out, to just grab the nearest person and wail on them for ours on end. He wanted to make every last person in the school recognise what he was doing for them, force them to be grateful.

"_Please stop!"_

"_Ehahaha! What a freak!"_

He stopped and saw his teammates harassing Velvet. The resigned, pained look on the rabbit girls filling him with a perverse joy. The way she shied away and pleaded satiating the hatred stirring within him. He looked at the smiling faces on his 'friends' faces and felt rather envious of the joy they were feeling.

"_**God that looks like fun. But I'm supposed to be kinder…ah what the hell, maybe I'll indulge myself just this once."**_

"_Hey!"_

All four of them turned and looked at the mace-wielder and all of them had a look of fear on their faces. Cardin walked over to the people who had oh-so willingly abandoned him to die at the hands of an Ursa Major.

"_Oh! H-h-hey Cardin."_

"_Hey."_

"_Look man, we're sorry about what happened in the forest, we didn't mean nuthin' by it. We were just so scared!"  
_

"_Can you forgive us?"_

Cardin looked at the cowering trio, at their abashed looks. He knew they were faking it; the bastards weren't even a little ashamed over their actions. They were just a bunch of cowering, worthless little rats concerned only with themselves.

"_**So are you."**_

Cardin shook the thoughts out of his mind. Those thoughts led to somewhere dark, a place Cardin never wanted to go to ever again.

"_**They do **_**seem **_**genuinely remorseful…"**_

"_Ah don't worry about it, water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned."_

The smiles returned to their faces only this time they looked a little too gleeful. The comparison to rats crept back into his mind.

"_Thanks Cardin ol' buddy ol' pal!" _Russel said in a mocking, light-hearted tone that grated on the leader's nerves. They'd left him for dead; even if he forgave them he shouldn't be joking about such things.

"_So…what are we gonna do with this freak boss?"_

Cardin turned to regard Velvet, a sadistic grin plastered across his face. Velvet looked up to him with resigned, almost pleading eyes that left Cardin stunned. She looked exactly like Fenestra did in the library yesterday.

"_**Oh God! What am I doing?"**_

It had barely been an hour since he'd woken up and he'd already lapsed back into his old habits. The familiar feeling of disgust and self-loathing boiling inside of him, he found himself almost unable to move as he stared into Velvet's eyes, staring at his face reflected in her pupils.

"_**Cowering, worthless little rats concerned with nothing but themselves..."**_

He had to repress the urge to recoil in horror almost as soon as the thought occurred to him.

"_**No, it's not to late. I can still make this work!"**_

The problem was that he'd now scared poor Velvet and had his teammates watching over him. Even if he wanted to change, he wasn't prepared to lose the only people he could begin to consider friends. If he didn't play his cards right, he was screwed.

"_Actually, I need to ask you guys something."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_**Crap, what do I say?"**_

"_Erm…have you guys…_

"_**The history assignment! Perfect!"**_

"_Finished the history assignment? I'd like to compare notes."_

"_Oh God, we haven't even started yet!"_

"_Seriously?! Well what are you doing standing around, go do it!"  
_

"_You're right, come on guys!"_

Russel led the other members of team CRDL down the halls, all but sprinting. Cardin wiped his brow in relief before kneeling down alongside Velvet.

"_Don't worry, I'm here to help."_

Much to his annoyance, Velvet keeps looking at him as if he were a Grimm. The hatred and fear in her eyes boring through into his soul. Any other person would've backed away and left her be, but Cardin was stubborn and not willing to take no for an answer.

"_Come on, I'll help you up." _He said while standing up and offering his hand out to Velvet. He vaguely recalled that it was the same gesture Jaune had offered him. Only this time, Velvet moved away from his outstretched hand.

"_What is wrong with you people?! I'm trying to be nicer and you people keep treating me like trash. I swear I'll-"_

Unfortunately for Cardin, he was too busy venting his frustrations to notice that Yang had walked around the corner who, seeing Cardin yelling at Velvet while the later was on the floor curled up against the wall in the fetal position, promptly walked over to them punched Cardin across the hall.*

"_**Urgh, what the hell…"**_

He didn't have time to consider his thoughts before Yang picked him up by his collar.

"_Listen here bub, I'm getting pretty tired of you picking on Faunus."_

"_But I was trying to help her! Velvet, back me up."_

Velvet didn't back him up. She just sat where she was, still giving Cardin that look of fear and hatred.

"_Velvet?"_

Slowly, Velvet stood up and walked away. Perhaps she'd been scared off by Cardin's screaming or maybe it was her form or revenge. Whatever it was, she'd left Cardin to his fate.

"_Yeah, that looks really helpful."_

"_I swear, I was-"_

"_Ms. Xiao Long! What is the meaning of this!"_

"_**Glynda? Oh thank whatever deity exists in our world! She'll sort this out."**_

"_Ms. Goodwitch, I found Cardin bullying Velvet."_

"_Hmm. Mr. Winchester, is this true?"_

"_No, I was trying to help her!"_

Glynda looked mildly annoyed with the conflicting answers. She hated it when students lied.

"_The two of you are dismissed. I'll be talking to Velvet about this."_

Yang released her grip on Cardin's collar while Cardin felt his heart sink into his stomach. If she asked Velvet, she'd probably side with Yang.

"_You two may leave now."_

She didn't need to remind them. They were turning to leave before she even started the sentence.

"_**I am so screwed."**_

* * *

It was just past lunchtime when Cardin was 'summoned' to Glynda's office. The office was neat, organised and spartan. Much like Goodwitch herself.

"_Mr. Winchester. Velvet confirmed that you were indeed trying to help her…"_

Cardin could barely fight the smile of his face; the Faunus hadn't gotten him in trouble after all. It was all he could do to not dance a jig right then and there.

"_However, she also stated that you yelled at her and menaced her with violence. This is unacceptable behaviour. You have a detention on Monday, don't be late."_

"_Wha- But I was-"_

"_No buts Mr. Winchester. You are dismissed."_

He might've been seeing things, but he thought he saw a look in Glynda's eyes; the look that all the students in Beacon gave him; one of contempt and barely concealed hatred.

"_**Great, even the teachers are ganging up on me."**_

With an insulted huff and wounded pride, Cardin stalked out of the teacher's office; brimming with anger and disappointment.

"_**So this is what I get for trying to be nice; abuse and being treated like dirt? Why do I even bother…**_

Cardin felt the same empty feeling from yesterday swelling up within him. Another piece of his grandmother's advice wormed its way inside his mind, despite his reluctance.

"_**Most people quit never knowing how close they were to success."**_

Her advice didn't inspire the same confidence in Cardin that it did yesterday, but he still managed to draw some semblance of strength from it.

"_**Well, Vale wasn't built in a day. I guess I could keep trying. I mean, how bad can it get?"**_

Sadly for Cardin, the worst had only just begun…

* * *

***= In almost every fanfiction that features team CRDL, they will get beaten up by someone. It's almost a rule of RWBY fanfiction. But imagine how that would make them look from Cardin's perspective, especially in this story; Cardin's just trying to help someone, but because of a mistake in reading the situation, someone just walks up to him and punches him across the room and **_**he **_**of all people get's punished!**

**Anyway, because this story is from Cardin's perspective, RWBY and JNPR are going to be portrayed as antagonistic because, well to Cardin these are people who kick the shit out of him on a daily basis, you wouldn't exactly have a high opinion of them. So I'm sorry if you don't like the way the main cast are portrayed in this story.**


	3. Empty

**I'm too tired to think of something to say, let's just jump into it.**

* * *

"_This is too damn _hard_!"_

Cardin threw his pencil across the room in a fit of frustration. Still bitter from his encounter with Yang and too angry to help anyone, he decided to go back to his dorm and catch up on his work. Forcing Jaune to do it for him had allowed him time to relax, but he knew far too little about his subjects as a result.

"_**Way to ruin everything past-self! Seriously good job!"**_

The study he needed to do was overwhelming. He was three chapters behind everyone else in each respective class and forcing someone to do it for him was right out. He'd dug himself this hole and he would have to fill it in himself.

"_**Why do I even bother?"**_

With the weary sigh of someone who had resigned themself to a horrid fate, he slowly shuffled over to the corner and picked up his pencil, hitting his recently wounded eye on the corner of a drawer as he bent over.

"_**Gah! Perfect! Just what I needed today!**_

Cardin forced the urged to punch the wall down and, blinking back tears, walked back over to his desk, sat back into his chair and flipped through his Grimm Biology book.

"_Dude, how did we forget that history assignment?"_

"_Ah why does it matter, it's only history."_

"_Fair enough."_

The mace-wielder repressed the urge to groan as he recognised the muffled voices of his teammates. Sure enough, the hooligans violently opened the door, laughing wildly at some random joke.

"_Sup Cardin! Thanks for the heads up on the assignment!"_

"_Mmm."_

The minimalistic response was slightly worrying for the trio, but they didn't let it show. Instead, they simply walked over to the drawer and pulled out their scrolls.

"_We were gonna hit the town for the night, you coming bro?"_

"_No."_

"_Why? Whatcha doing?"_

"_Study."_

"_PftHAHAHAHAHA!"  
_

Cardin grimaced at his 'friends' laughing. Their laughter reminded him of a pack of hyenas.

"_**You're no better…"**_

The thought wormed its way into his mind almost instantly. This time however, Cardin couldn't simply wish it away. The thought was stuck and he couldn't ignore it.

"_**Have I really changed? Am I really no better?"**_

"_Hey guys, who am I: Erth, 3.14 to the power of pi is approximately equal to infinity divided by the square root of negative 2.5."_

"_Are you…Egghead Cardin?"_

Another round erupted from the trio and pushed Cardin over the edge; the pain from his eye, the frustration from the day's struggles and the tormenting from his supposed teammates had pushed him over the edge.

"_Get out."_

"_Why? Are we interrupting your daily maths session or something?"_

"_Get. _Out._"_

"_Aw come on man, we were just messin' around. We didn't mean it."_

"_GET OUT!"_

The trio stood there in shock, Cardin might've been a bit of a jerk to them before, but they were friends and he'd never raised his voice at them before. The shock lasted a split second before they all but sprinted out the door.

"_Oh wait, I forgot my-"_

"_OUT!" _Cardin bellowed, standing up and whirling around to stare Russel in the eye.

"_Woah, you're eye is messed _up! _You should really go to the nurse."_

"_Thanks for your consideration, now get out."_

Russel didn't need any incentive. He closed the door and Cardin was once more left by himself.

"_**No better than they are…"**_

Cardin tenderly touched the bruised skin around his eye. Pain lanced through his skull instantly and he withdrew his hand almost as quickly, his mind flashing back to that moment in the hall. How Velvet had left him at the mercy of Yang, how the blonde in question had just punched him in the face without knowing what was happening and how Glynda had punished _him _for the whole incident.

"_**Bastards…"**_

The anger that had been building in Cardin since the start of the day had reached it's boiling point. He remembered all to vividly how that girl had run in _fear _after he had helped, how that guy would rather struggle and fail to carry his books than accept his help.

"_**What is wrong with them?!"**_

Cardin screamed in frustration, kicking a trash can into the wall in a futile attempt to vent his anger. The swung the door open as hard as he could and stalked angrily down the hall, heading for the simulations room.

* * *

Cardin pulled his locker opened and pulled out his Mace. He swung the heavy weapon experimentally a few times and, feeling satisfied with the results, stepped into the simulation chamber and hammered in his desired challenge.

"_Arena: Forever Falls. Opponent: Ursa Major. Loading…" _the monotone voice of the simulation droned. Cardin stood perfectly, weapon resting across his shoulders. He watched with mild fascination as the dull grey of the simulation room loaded an image of a tiny clearing in the Forever Falls.

Before he could spend any more time marveling at the power of modern technology, an Ursa Major came crashing through the trees, charging directly at him.

With an aggressive snarl, the hunter-in-training stepped slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the Ursa's frenzied claw swipe. Gripping his mace with both hands, he swung towards the Grimm in a golf-like fashion, smashing the weapon into the Grimm's side and staggering it.

Cardin didn't give the creature any room to breath however, as he charged into the Grimm, swinging his hammer in a series of strikes with enough force to shatter the creature's exoskeleton.

"_Not so tough now are you? Not so tough when you don't take me by surprise? Come on, FIGHT ME!"_

Cardin swung his mace like a baseball in a particularly vicious swing that sent the Grimm's lower jaw flying into the forest trees. The Ursa collapsed under the flurry of blows and fell onto it's belly, thoroughly defeated.

"_Feh, pathetic." _

And with those words, Cardin swung his Mace down and put the simulation out of it's misery. He watched with mild disappointment as the scenery and corpse of the Grimm dissolved into nothing.

"_Load the simulation again."_

"_Acknowledged, loading…_

The night went on with Cardin slaughtering enough simulated Grimm to fill an entire cemetery. When he was too tired to fight Ursa Major he resorted to regular Ursa and eventually to Beowulfs.

"_Come. On. You. Worthless. Piece. Of. Trash. FIGHT ME!"_

The simulated Beowulfs were currently cowering away from Cardin, who was all but standing on top of their corpses.

"_Fine then, I'll fight you!"_

He charged forward, but his fatigue got the better of him. He blacked out for a split second, long enough for the Beowulf to dig it's claws into his sides. The simulation vanished instantly, much to Cardin's annoyance.

"_Simulation complete. Result: Death."_

"_Run the simulation again…"_

"_Access denied. Curfew begins in 10 minutes."_

Cardin felt slightly shocked by this. He'd been slaughtering fake Grimm for well over two hours if the simulation was to be believed. He'd expected to feel some sort of relief by venting his anger in this manner but now, having finished venting, he merely felt…empty, but somehow still upset over the day's incidents.

"_**No rest for the wicked then."**_

And with that thought, he put his weapon back in its locker and began the long walk back to his dorm.

* * *

Returning to his dorm hadn't been much of a challenge; he was only half way back to his dorm when curfew was enforced, but the former bully had spent long enough breaking curfews to know what he was doing. With practiced ease, he slipped past the hall monitors and sneaked his way down the halls, making nary a whisper of noise.

"_**Looks like all those Assassin's Creed playthrough's are finally paying off."**_

Cardin laughed quietly at his joke and before long finally found himself outside the door to his dorm. He eased the door open, discarded his armour as quietly as possible and flopped onto his bed.

"_Uuuuuh. I've never been happier to sleep."_

"_**And what of your studying?"**_

Cardin's eyes shot open in mild panic. He sat up, stifling a groan and looked over at his desk and the mountain of books and paper that sat on it.

"_**There's no way I can finish all that in one day."**_

Part of Cardin, the side that had gotten him into the current mess that his life had become urged him to just lie down, surely he could just force someone to help him with it when he woke up tomorrow. And although it was a very tempting idea, Cardin knew he couldn't do it. He'd made an oath and he was going to stick to it, come hell or high seas.

"_**You dug yourself this hole, now you have to fill it in."**_

Almost against his will, Cardin found himself standing up and walking over to his desk, lighting a candle and flipping his Grimm Biology book open once more. He took one look at the gigantic pile of notes and books and let out a weary sigh.

"_**Why do I even bother?"**_

However, like every other time, Cardin couldn't think of an answer.

* * *

***Insert sarcastic yet witty commentary about the events of this chapter here***


	4. Pushed Too Far

"_**And…done. Finally…"**_

Cardin leaned back into his chair, letting out a sigh of relief at finally being able to relax. It had taken half a day and all night, but he'd done it; he'd caught up on all his work.

"_**What time is it?"**_

He stifled a yawn as he grabbed his scroll and absentmindedly typed in the password, painfully aware of how sunlight burns the eyes after an all nighter.

"_**8:08. Beautiful. B-e-a-utiful."**_

On hand, Cardin was so tired that even basic tasks were beginning to feel like a struggle but, on the other hand, breakfast would be starting and if he missed that he'd probably be starving for most of the day. The growling of his stomach made the decision for him.

"_I suppose I'll need to shower then."_

* * *

Cardin let out a sigh of relief as the hot water poured over him, washing away the aches and pains from yesterday's mishaps and abuses.

Abuse. The word stuck to his mind like a bad smell. He raised his arm and gently touched his eye, hoping that the pain would've eased. He was wrong; it was even worse.

The ginger instinctively leapt backwards, smacking the back of his head against the shower wall in the process. He grunted in pain and fought back tears. He likely would've sat there for several minutes if Russel hadn't knocked on the door.

"_You alright Cardin? I heard yelling."_

"_Don't worry mate, It was nothing."_

"_Okay. And would you hurry up? We need to shower to!"_

Cardin's lips curved into a ghost of a smile; at least they managed to somewhat care about him. Regardless of the whole incident with the Ursa, they were his only friends at Beacon.

"_**What happened to hyenas and rats?"**_

As much as he loathed admitting it, whatever dark recess of his mind creating these thoughts had a point; he'd spent most of yesterday thinking of them as lower than scavengers. His only friends and he felt the need to bad-mouth them in his mind. A fresh wave of guilt washed over him, a feeling of shame over his pettiness. How could he claim to be a new person if he couldn't turn the other cheek?

"_**Stupid philosophy crap. Why can't it just be do nice things and I'm all good? Why can't this be easy?"**_

With a weary sigh, Cardin reluctantly turned the shower off and stepped in to the cold air, walking over to the sink and looked at his face.

"_**Bloody hell! I look like a mess!**_

His eyes were sunken, bleary from a lack of sleep and red from his tears of pain. However, all of this paled compared to the monstrosity that was his left eye.

"_**She's got one hell of an arm." **_The former bully mused idly.

The skin around the eye had turned blackish-purple and had swollen almost completely shut. It was a wonder that he could see out of it at all.

"_Cardin! Hurry up, would you!" _Russel yelled through the door. However, it was amused yelling and he could hear some laughter coming from the other side.

"_Yeah, yeah. You can have your 'private time' in a minute."_

He heard his other teammates laugh heavily through the door, causing Cardin to smirk at the mental image of Russel blushing heavily from embarrassment.

Feeling much better after a little laugh, Cardin threw on a t-shirt and a pair of board shorts and opened the door.

"_There, done."_

His teammates took one look at his swollen eye and recoiled in horror.

"_Gods, are you okay?!"  
_

"_Dude, we need to get you to the nurse."_

"_Bloody hell man, what happened?"_

Cardin smirked again at their reactions.

"_Wow, you really do care. You're not going soft on me are you? Seriously though, I'm fine. See you guys at the cafeteria._

* * *

Cardin's temper grew the closer he got to the cafeteria; everyone he saw had an anger-provoking reaction. Some people stared and smirked as if he deserved it, others had the sheer _audacity _to snicker audibly. The worst were the ones who simply looked down at him with their heads held high and contemptuous glares in their eyes, as if they were better then he was.

"_**It's like they're **_**trying **_**to provoke me."**_

By the time the former bully had reached the cafeteria, he'd just about reached boiling point and was ready to thump the next person he saw. Pushing the open doors open far more violently than he intended to, Cardin was embarrassed to see every face in the cafeteria turn to him and laugh at the sight of his eye.

With a vicious snarl, the ginger walked over to the food counter, picked up a tray and dumped whatever food he could get his hands on onto the tray. The frustrated Hunter walked over to his usual spot and sat down, slamming his tray down and drawing a loud yelp from Velvet.

The entire cafeteria went silent as Cardin glared at Velvet aggressively, several of them preparing to step in if things got violent. The Hunter stared at the Rabbit Faunus, looking into her fearful eyes, hoping to find some trace of regret over what happened yesterday.

"_**Nothing but fear. Why? I've tried being nice; I stuck up for her yesterday. What more could she want?"**_

"_Well, well. What do we have here gentlemen?"_

"_**Oh bloody hell…"**_

It was his teammates. Of course they would show up when Velvet was close to but hadn't quite finished her food.

"_What do you think you're doing freak? This is _our _table."_

"_Th-there aren't any spots left…"_

"_That's your problem, not ours."_

While the discussion was going on, Cardin was in the grips of emotional turmoil. There was no way he would be able to bluff his way out of this one, it was either his teammates or Velvet. The only people who gave a crap about him in the entire school or sticking to his promise of redeeming himself.

"_**It's not fair! I've tried being nice! I've done good things!"**_

But when the ginger looked up and saw them yanking on her ears, the decision was made for him. He needed to do this, no matter what.

"_Stop."_

"_Wait, what?!"_

"_Leave her be guys."_

His friends looked at each other before bursting into laughter, still tugging on Velvet's ears. The ginger felt like his legs had turned to jelly, but he kept his expression straight and free of fear.

"_Wait, you're being serious?"_

"_Yes, now let her go."_

His teammates looked at each other again, this time out of fear and concern rather than humour.

"_What's happening to you man? First studying all night and now sticking up for this freak. Why are you doing this?" _Sky asked in a worried tone, tugging on Velvet's ears for emphasis.

"_It doesn't matter, just let her go."_

"_Fine. Lets go guys."_

Dove's voice lacked its usual fun loving and sarcastic tone. He just sounded…defeated. As if he'd just had all the fun and joy sucked out of his life. As if he'd been betrayed.

"_**He was. By you."**_

Cardin ignored the thought and turned to see Velvet walking towards the cafeteria exit.

"_**That sneaky little- that does it."**_

Cardin threw his chair back and went after the Faunus, rage flowing through every fibre of his being. How could she? He'd just driven away his only friends and she'd walked off? Niceness be damned, he was going to get answers.

Before Velvet could open the door, Cardin grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"_What's your deal Velvet?"_

"_Wh-what?"_

"_I'm trying to be nice and you keep blowing me off. What's wrong with you, can't you see I'm trying to help?"_

Everyone in the cafeteria turned to watch the ongoing conflict between them. Jaune stood up to go talk Cardin down but was pulled back into his seat by Pyrrha, telling him to watch how things go.

Cardin however, looked worried; Velvet was angry, not annoyed, not trying to look intimidating, genuinely angry.

"_What's wrong with me? Me? What's wrong with _you_?! Three months Cardin! Three months of bullying and being isolated because people were afraid to be friends with me because of you! Three months of abuse and pain and loneliness and you think that _one _good thing makes up for all that? Do you really think that one _day _of good things can make up for three _months _of loneliness and suffering? Well you're wrong y-you _JERK!_"_

Cardin recoiled as if he'd been slapped. This was the first time in all of their time at Beacon that Velvet had ever said something mean about someone. Even when he tormented her, she just turned the other cheek. The students in the cafeteria burst into a round of applause, happy to have finally seen Cardin be taken down a few pegs.

"_**Is…is she right?"**_

Cardin walked back over to his table and sat down, stirring and playing with his food until it was a mess, thoroughly unrecognisable when compared to what it once was.

"_**What have I been thinking, how did I not see this?"**_

He thought back to yesterday's events and how he'd reacted to everything that happened; how he'd blamed the other students when they had every right to be paranoid and weary, how he'd got on his high-horse the minute he'd made his change.

"_**What is wrong with me? What about everyone else who has to go through this bullshit? It works in books, so why won't it work here?"**_

"_Attention all students, the Weekend classes are now available for anyone who wishes to catch up on work." _Glynda said monotonously over the speaker, causing a large number of students to stand up and exit the cafeteria, leaving Cardin and very few other students alone.

"_**Weekend classes? Hmm…I **_**am **_**still not sure of a few things."**_

And with that thought, Cardin pushed Velvet's words out of his mind for the moment, determined to improve himself. He deposited his abomination of a mess into the trashcan and left to join the weekend classes, blissfully unaware of the events that would be kicked into motion as a result.

* * *

**Jeez, even in a story **_**about **_**him, Cardin just can't catch a break huh?**


	5. The Challenge

**Story time kids! Ok, once upon a time…**

**Just kidding! Here's the new chapter.**

* * *

"_**Of course. It just had to be this room!" **_Cardin thought, raging internally. He'd finally found where the weekend classes were but they were located in the room with a really squeaky door. There was no way he'd be able to enter discreetly.

The mace-wielder could here Professor Oobleck talking at 90 miles per hour inside accompanied by the sound of him zipping around the room to help each student with their work.

"_**Oh well, here goes nothing."**_

Cardin pushed the door open gently, hoping to avoid making to much noise but to no avail. The former bully cringed heavily as the door creaked as if it hadn't been oiled in decades. Funny how a noise that seemed insignificant could sound so deafening in the right circumstances. The ginger watched with bated breath as everyone in the room glared at him with a mixture of contempt and utter hatred.

"_Ah, Mr. Winchester! What can I do for you?" _Oobleck asked, closing the distance between the two faster than anyone could blink. In his first few days, the Professor's flash stepping would cause him to flinch but now it was just sort of…expected.

"_I'm...uh, here for the weekend classes?_

The ginger heard someone at the back of the class snort.

"_Hmm. Mr. Winchester, why was the Battle of Fort Castle the turning point of the Faunus War?"_

"_Well, it's mostly due to the resources lost in the battle."_

Cardin, to the amazement of the class and Oobleck, launched into a five minute speech about the loss of the human armies most talented soldiers, many of the more talented recruits as well as supplies left the human forces with a lack of resources and vulnerable to counterattack.

"_Excellent! Simply excellent! Take a seat Mr. Winchester; we're just starting the theories surrounding some of the rumours of the war_

"_**Bugger…"**_

"_I've only just started that topic."_

"_No matter, the purpose of this class is so that we can aid you. Take a seat Mr. Winchester I'm here if you need me."_

And with that, Cardin walked over to his seat while Oobleck all but teleported over to a student with their hand raised. Flicking through his history textbook until he reached the page number he was looking for.

"_**Alright, why was General Langune, an inexperienced general, trusted with so many resources. Hmm…Oh god dammit. Ok let's see, he wasn't exactly a favourite with the government and he was only just promoted…"**_

"_Ok Mr. Winchester, do you need help?"_

"_Yeah, um…I'm not sure why Langune was trusted so much?"  
_

"_Think about his family…"_

"_**Hmm…he had a strong military background."**_

"_Don't think to hard Cardin. You'll hurt yourself."_

Cardin looked over his shoulder to see a tall, dark haired man wearing jeans, a white shirt and a leather jacket. His name was Marty Sam and Cardin had butted heads with him quite a few times. Cardin viewing him as a violent, whiney, arrogant person who only managed to make friends because he was 'cool' and Marty…well, he thought what everyone else did of Cardin.

"_Piss off! I'm here to learn."_

"_Ooh, feisty. Maybe you should calm down before I teach you some manners."_

"_Enough! Marty, don't provoke him! Cardin, don't take the bait! Now do your work!"_

* * *

The day wore on like this. Marty tormenting Cardin, the mace-wielder biting back and Oobleck stopping the arguments from turning into a brawl right then and there.

"_**The hell is this guys problem?"***_

"_Alright class, it's almost time for lunch! Excellent work today, especially you Cardin. Nice to see you finally taking an interest."_

And with those words, he zipped out of the room immediately. The students took a more relaxed stands and trudged out slowly, chatting idly with their friends. The ginger walked slowly, making sure all of his stuff was in order when he heard footsteps behind him.

"_Do you nee-"_

Cardin didn't get to finish his words before a fist slammed into his nose, sending him reeling. The former bully fought back tears while blood trickled down his throat.

"_What the-"_

He tried to retaliate, but his assailant ducked under and pushed him up against the wall. Cardin looked through bleary eyes and saw the leather jacket and deep purple eyes, knowing instantly who it was.

"_I don't like you Cardin." _Marty whispered sinisterly into his ear.

"_Racism, stupidity, bullying. It's all I can do to not beat you into the ground right now."_

Cardin took advantage of his close proximity to stamp the heel of his foot into the soft spot of Marty's ankle and shoving him violently into the opposite wall.

"_Gargh! You've got some fight in you. Good, you'll be needing it on Friday."_

"_Why?"  
_

"_I've organised a duel with Ms. Goodwitch after last period. I'm gonna make you regret messing with the other students."_

A tiny voice in Cardin's mind told him that this was a bad idea. That he shouldn't go through with it. The pain coursing through his nose and skull quickly overshadowed that voice.

"_Fine, I'll see you then."_

* * *

The rest of the week flew by insanely quick Cardin thought as he took his place on the stage. He scanned the crowd, hoping to find his teammates present. They weren't.

"_**This is the second time they've abandoned me."**_

Taking another look at the crowd, Cardin felt a sense of hopelessness wash over him. There faces were hateful and twisted in anticipation, not a single friendly face amongst them. He found himself reminded of Velvet's outburst on Sunday.

"_**Do you really think one day of good things makes up for three months of loneliness and suffering?"**_

Three months…

"_**All that time I've been acting like a jerkass and I thought that one sudden change would fix everything? What have I been thinking? How could I think this would work?"**_

He could've sworn that he saw someone was selling mutilated Cardin plushies near the back of the hall. The oddness of the situation almost made him chuckle. He was about to finish his inner monologue when he saw the door open and his teammates walk through.

"_**They…they came?"**_

He saw them hold unravel a large white banner and hold it up, waving it around as if they're life depended on it.

"_**Kick his ass Cardin?"  
**_

The ginger chuckled out loud at his teammates antics. It wasn't exactly subtle but at least it wasn't something so cliché as 'we believe in you'.

"_**Will do guys. Will do."**_

"_Hey! Numnuts!"_

Marty Sam had finally shown up, wielding his dual-katanas with guns built into the hilt. It always struck Cardin as unoriginal, considering that everyone and their grandmother wielded a katana at this school.

"_We doing this or what?"_

Cardin took one last look at his friends, finding some amusement in Russel getting knocked out for hitting on some red-headed girl.

"_Damn right."_

Hefting his mace across his shoulder, Cardin and Marty walked into the middle of the arena to were Goodwitch was holding up an aura barrier.

"_This will be a traditional, tournament style dual; no outside assistance and no unsportsmanlike behaviour. Once your opponent's aura hits the red, they are defeated. Understood?"_

The feuding hunters nodded their consent.

"_Very well then." _Glynda said as she backed away as to not be caught in the middle of the fight.

"_Let the match…begin!"_

* * *

**Marty Sam is a Marty Stu? No, really? I'd never have guesses. **

**Seriously though, it always bothered me how OC's could do some outright villainous things to Cardin and be treated as right and just. He's bullying someone? Let's give him some hospital worthy injuries, that'll teach him!**

**Ah well, see ya next time!**


End file.
